Tomato Soup

Three days ago I went through the traumatic and horrifying ordeal of getting my wisdom teeth out. A painful and appetite destroying adventure that has left my mouth looking like it has encountered five rounds of Mike Tyson’s fist. The day before I made damn sure to get prepared with any food type that I could acceptably puree. All the usual suspects – Sweet Potatoes, Yoghurt, Salmon, Bananas, Rice and Avocado were on the list along with a few unusual baby food ingredients. I figured that if i couldn’t have toast or sandwiches why not buy the bread, toast it and liquidize it with some milk and a bit of butter and jam.. it would taste roughly the same and there would be the added bonus of not having to chew it. I was wrong. Under no circumstance is this a good idea. It might taste alright but the look of it is not. I am struggling to see how i will ever look at toast the same way again. I am so glad I drew the line when my boyfriend suggested we try it with Sushi!

This morning, post the toast saga, I was hunting about on the internet for recipe inspiration on more good foods to puree – beyond soup. During my search I stumbled across an online forum for ‘post-wisdom teeth extraction foods’ and had the most horrific realisation. Just when I thought I was missing out.. having spent the last two days being subjected to all manner of delicious looking foods – Chicken Sarnies, Crisps and Wasabi Peas, that my family have been mercilessly parading around in front of my hamster cheeks. What I did not realise was that there were people out in the world that had been reduced to eating only Jelly and boiled mashed Potatoes for fear, or lack of knowledge on all other manner of pureeable goodies that are out there.

So in my delirious codine-induced state I have attempted to put together a little repertoire of recipes to ail the sore mouth, feed the stomach and delight the tastebuds. The first is a warming spiced Tomato Soup. With the addition of fragrant herbs to add warmth and spice. If you are experiencing sore post-surgery gums I would recommend waiting a couple of days before making this. Or perhaps forgo adding the Masala mix. It is without a doubt easy to get down but does boast a gentle kick of chilli which may not be palatable for all..

Tomato Soup Recipe

(Serves 4 – or 6 mini bowls)

1kg plump, ripe tomatoes (or x2 400g tins of plum tomatoes)

1 tbs tomato puree

1 onion, finely chopped

1 small carrots

1 tbs coconut oil

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala (or mild curry powder)

1 tbs chopped coriander stalks (reserve the leaves for garnish)

650ml good chicken/vegetable Stock)

greek yoghurt (for serving)

Method

In a large saucepan, heat the butter over a medium flame. Add the onions and reduce the heat.

Sweat them over the heat for 10 minutes until they are soft and translucent. Add the ground coriander, turmeric, cumin and masala and continue to cook for a minute or so, until the spices smell toasted. Add the tomato puree and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously until the puree has darkened. Chop the carrot and halve the tomatoes and add them to the pan (if using tinned tomatoes or passata add them) with the stock. Bring the stock to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and tender.

Once all the vegetables are cooked, use a hand blender to blitz the soup to your desired consistency. I usually like to keep a bit of the tomato texture and pureed it so there are nice chunks of tomato to spoon up onto my toast.In this case I thought it safer for my gums to opt of a smooth soup, so I pureed it into oblivion, and then passed it through a coarse sieve, for the ultimate silky smooth texture.